Madao?
by EvilFuzzy9
Summary: Some people, no matter how hard they struggle, never succeed. For some people, life is just one setback after another, ad infinitum. The winds of chance blow Hayate down a slightly different path, and he winds up encountering a kindred spirit. A man has to live his life the way he believes is right, even if it leads him to nothing but hardship? Heh, maybe. Who knows for sure?


**Madao?**

A _Hayate the Combat Butler _x_ Gintama_ (kinda) crossover

By

EvilFuzzy9

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**A/N: I recently discovered **_**Gintama**_**. I have watched about a hundred episodes so far, and I have to say I **_**really**_** like it. My two favorite characters, so far, are probably Shinpachi and Hasegawa, though Kagura is right up there.**

**Also, I know it says chapter the first, but for now this is just a stand alone thing. It's not set in the world of Gintama, just borrowing a single character from it (for now...?) who's been transplanted and adjusted to fit into the world of HnG. Maybe I'll continue it, maybe I won't. As it is, though, I think it's fine enough on it's own to pass as a oneshot.**

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**Chapter the First:**

**A Fateful Encounter?**

Hayate Ayasaki, aged sixteen, could have sworn as he ducked behind the corner, narrowly avoiding being spotted by his pursuers. His heart was beating like a machine gun as he dropped down behind a trashcan.

The footsteps of the yakuza debt collectors reverberated through the narrow alley as they ran past only seconds after he hid himself. By some miracle, they did not see him, and ran right on down the sidewalk without stopping.

The unfortunate teen let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was safe, for now.

After his failed attempt at kidnapping that little girl, he'd been forced to flee for his life when one of the yakuza from earlier that day had spotted him lying down on the sidewalk. Despite his initial overtures towards dying in the snow, Hayate found that he apparently still wanted to live, considering how his body had gotten up and started running the second he'd noticed the yak.

After that, one thing had led to another and before he knew it even more of the "very nice men" had joined in the chase. It had been going on for what felt like forever to Hayate, but it seemed like he was in the clear, at least for the moment.

When he breathed back in after his initial relieved sigh, Hayate noticed the smell of tobacco. His nerves, frayed from the long chase, snapped back into high alert and he whipped his head around, prepared to run. Had they found him again so quickly?

"Hey, kid," Hayate heard a man's voice say. It was somewhat wry in tone, but also unmistakeably world-weary. "You in some kind of trouble with the yakuza?"

His eyes locked onto something he hadn't noticed before. Across the alley, hardly more than a few feet from his hiding spot, a somewhat disheveled, downtrodden looking older man was leaning against the wall. The man was dressed in shabby clothes, smoking a cheap cigarette, and wearing sunglasses. He had a haphazardly trimmed goatee and short, spiky brown hair. If he were a little more cleaned up, the man might have been fairly intimidating.

As it was, however, all Hayate could notice was that this person, somehow, seemed to be just like himself. He had no idea where he got this idea – surely there was no way he could tell that just from looking at the guy – but Hayate got the unmistakeable impression that he and that old man were two of a kind.

Hayate nodded weakly, mutely, in response to the man's question.

The man took a drag of his cigarette before taking it out of his mouth, exhaling a puff of pungent smoke. He looked down at Hayate, giving the teen a somewhat wry grin.

"Hah," he said, his voice was low and somewhat gravelly. "That's no good. A kid your age shouldn't be getting involved with those kinds of people, you know."

"I... I know..." Hayate mumbled softly, "I... it wasn't my fault, though, it—"

"—just happened, right?" the man finished for him. "Don't worry, I believe you," the man added, cutting Hayate off before the boy could try to explain himself. "I can tell just by looking at your face... you and me are two of a kind."

He smiled melancholically.

"A couple of useless losers kicked around by everything from God to fate... Two hopeless fools caught up in this rat race we call life with no hopes of winning..." He glanced into Hayate's eyes, sunglasses hiding his own from sight. "That's us, ain't it?" he remarked wryly.

"...yeah..." Hayate murmured morosely. "...it is." He then sighed, hanging his head. "It really is..."

He then looked up when he felt the old man press something into his hand. Looking at it, he saw that it was a cigarette.

"You look like you could use a pick me up," the man offered as an explanation.

"Ah, but I'm underage... I can't..." Hayate said.

The man waved a hand dismissively and pulled out a lighter.

"Just one won't hurt," he told Hayate. "It's obvious you need it, anyway."

Hayate shook his head, but accepted the lighter the man offered, figuring he might as well not let this stranger's kindness go to waste. Flicking it, he lit the tip of the cigarette and took a deep drag.

He nearly spat the cigarette right back out at the foul taste, and he broke out coughing as he felt his throat burning. The man let out a hearty laugh at Hayate's reaction, slapping a heavy calloused hand down on the teen's shoulder.

"Haha!" the man laughed, "That really is your first one, isn't it?"

Hayate sweatdropped at this remark, coughing his scorched, smoke-filled lungs out. "Hah!? What sort of kid did you think I am!?" he said in exasperation, frustratedly spitting the cigarette out of his mouth and stomping it out.

"Never mind, never mind," the man said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Anyway, what's your name, kid? How'd you wind up in trouble with people like the yakuza?"

"Oh... well, it's kind of a long story..." Hayate said, his mood abruptly shifting gears. "But my name is Hayate. Hayate Ayasaki."

The man chuckled. "Well, come on, then. If it's a long story, then there's no point telling it out here in the cold and snow," he said, gesturing to the light flakes that were falling from the sky all around them. "Let's go someplace nice and warm, where you can take as much time as you need to tell your story."

He grinned, before turning to leave.

"That all right with you, Hayate?" he asked over his shoulder, a tinge of humor in his voice.

"Ah, sure..." said Hayate weakly. He didn't have anywhere he could go, after all. Even if this old man was one of those sorts of people you heard about on the late night news, Hayate could not imagine how following the man could possibly lead to a worse fate than the one he'd already been dealt.

Besides, if worse came to worst, Hayate was more optimistic about his chances against a single washed up old man than he was against a yakuza or twelve.

"Heh. Alright, then," the man said, taking another drag of his cigarette as he stepped out of the alley and started walking down the sidewalk. "Come on, Hayate. I know the perfect place to stop and drown your sorrows."

Hayate followed the man, coughing lightly into his fist as he stepped out after him. A thought struck him as he realized that he couldn't keep mentally referring to the older man as _old man_.

"Hey... what's your name, anyways?" he asked the messy-haired, goatee'd, sunglasses wearing smoker.

The man chuckled, absentmindedly adjusting the collar of his shabby brown coat.

"Hasegawa," he said, "Taizo Hasegawa. Heh," he then chuckled wryly. "Almost everyone just calls me old man, though... either that, or _madao_."

**TTFN and R&R!**

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_translation notes:_

_"madao" - basically a multi-purpose slang acronym/abbreviation, specifically originating from Gintama and mostly used within the context of describing Hasegawa. There have been many variations of meanings for it in the show, but the original is "hopeless or good-for-nothing old man" (from the Japanese "__**ma**__ru de __**da**__me na __**o**__ssan"). There is also "old man who lives as he wants but accomplishes nothing" (JP: "__**ma**__ssugu ikite mo __**da**__inashi na jinsei na __**o**__jiisan"), and many others besides._


End file.
